Spelling BEE

Yesterday the clock kept ticking on and the girls had not shown up from the bus yet. They normally get home around 3:30. At 3:50 I got a call from Dan Wilson, Andi's dad, saying the bus was stuck. The children were with the bus driver in a woman's home on the street they were stuck on. They finally made it home around 4:50pm. Patience and Andi came running up to tell me that they had both made it into the school's spelling bee contest. They were both very excited. They will compete this Friday. The child that wins will then participate in the Joplin Globe's 31st spelling bee in March. Dan had told Andi that if she made it into the Duquesne spelling bee he would take her to dinner Friday, regardless of how she does on Friday. He has extended that invite to Patience too. Patience and Andi are taking advantage of this "snow" day to practice together. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Jennifer

Tag, I'm It.

So, I was reading my friend's blog this morning and she has tagged me to pick a picture. I am suppose to pick from my fourth folder, fourth picture and tag four people. I like Whitney, am going to cheat and tag one person. Jennifer W.

Oh, here is my picture. I'm suppose to explain it. This is Aurora at the awards assembly on the last day of school, 2008. The red head next to her is Sniper. He is a highly intelligent and highly active kid. I am not sure who the other one is.

Ugh!!

Make that a high of 15. It doesn't seem fair for it to be so cold and not get one good play in the snow kind of day.

Stuff with the kids

Last week we got report cards. Everyone is doing pretty well. Joy has strait A's. Aurora had all satisfactory marks, but her handwriting needs improvement. That doesn't exactly surprise me when I look at my own handwriting. Patience has all A's and two B's and one D. The D came as a shock. I guess there was a paper she was to turn in before Christmas vacation and she didn't. This has been a life lesson for her. We had her complete the assignment even if she wasn't going to get points for it. Her teacher told me at the PTO meeting on Monday that she would give her partial points since it was very late. I thought that was fair.

Logan has his first school performance tonight. His class is singing Cuppycake, a snowman song, and possibly Yankee doodle. The cuppycake song is precious. You can youtube it.

It is only suppose to get in the low 20's today. I really wish I could wear sweats to work.
I guess that is enough rambling for the day.

Love to all,
Niffer

Copy Catting Again

So, Whitney recently posted a list of things that people might not know about her. If you remember, I did this for Bruce a while back. I thought I would make a list for myself. This is going to take some real self analyzing. So much of who I am is about my husband and children.

1. I am the youngest of 3.
2. I have one brother and one sister.
3. I failed my driver's test the first time.
4. I have a scar from getting smacked in the head with one of those old metal swinging horses when I was 5.
5. I sang a solo at my kindergarten graduation.
6. The same day, I smashed my finger in a van door.
7. I have also smashed my middle finger in the last Cadilac my father drove.
8. My father passed away when I was 10.
9. I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when I was 9.
10. My favorite color is red.
11. My favorite food is strawberries, especially fresh ones.
12. I like to swim in natural bodies of water.
13. I enjoy camping and hiking.
14. I have either slept in or driven through 20 states.
15. I have been done temple work in 8 temples and I have seen 11.
16. I was 21 when I had my first child and 27 when I had my last.
17. I have a large mole near my belly button.
18. I like to suck on a cough drop when I sleep.
19. I usually start out sleeping spooned next to Bruce, but usually end up on my back or side.
20. I slept walk a few times as a child.
21. I like to eat ice cream out of the carton.
22. My favorite ice cream is Strawberry Cheesecake.
23. I learned how to swim because my sister said she would catch me off the slide, but she didn't and I swam to the side. I was 3.
24. I have bad handwriting.
25. I like to be barefoot or in flip flops.
26. Fleece is one of my favorite things to wear.
27. I prefer gold over silver, but I've been on a silver kick lately.
28. I have been wearing glasses since the 1st grade.
29. I am a multi-tasker.
30. I make good french toast.
31. I like the spring best.
32. I have 6 pairs of socks, three of which came from my dear friend Julie.
33. I have naturally curly hair.
34. I've been married 11.7 years.
35. My favorite scent is lilac.

Well, I realize some of these are pretty basic, but I am a pretty simple person. I hope you enjoyed my self analyzation.

Happy New Year

We had fun on New Years Eve having the missionaries over for dinner. They stayed and played Uno Spin with us after dinner. Patience won 3 out of 5 hands. It was a lot of fun teasing each other. Around 10:00pm we put the kids to bed. Luis Pagan came over and watched a movie with Bruce. I watched a movie on my computer in the bedroom. On the 1st we were able to participate in Kyle Surick's baptism. It was a spiritual experience. Bruce gave the talk on baptism and I gave one on the Holy Ghost. Kyle shared his testimony and the spirit was strong in the air.

On Friday, Joy, Aurora, Logan and I went to Springfield. We had a nice visit with Anne Rone and her daughter. Then we went to Jack's birthday party and went to Jump Mania. The children had a fun time. After that we went and saw Beth and the boys. The boys have made a homemade motorless go-kart. The kids enjoyed riding down a hill. We ended up at Jim and Debbie's for dinner and visited for a while.

When I got home I got a phone call from one of the sister's I visit teach. She has bronchoitis and they gave her a very strong antibiotic. She was having bad side affects and she was home alone with her 9 mth old. She could not get a hold of her husband. He went to wal-mart and forgot his cell phone. I rushed over and when I got there her husband had made it back. She lives here in the complex. Bruce came over and helped give her a blessing. She said that it was the most instantaneous blessing she had ever received. I was happy I was able to help her with the baby and that we have the knowledge and blessing of the priesthood in our lives.

We are grateful for our blessings and the people that love and support us.